Leonard Leads by Three, Bids for a Texas Repeat

Justin Leonard won’t give up his grip on the Texas Open golf tournament.

The defending champion shot a seven-under-par 64 Friday to take a three-stroke lead over first-round leader Marco Dawson and Carl Paulson after the second round at San Antonio.

Leonard, a Dallas native who played at the University of Texas, had 10 birdies on a cloudless but breezy day and finished with a 13-under 129.

Paulson shot a 66 and Dawson had a 68. Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik (66), Jay Williamson (68) and Tripp Isenhour (65) were another stroke back at nine under.

South Korea’s Mi Hyun Kim held onto the top spot in the AFLAC Champions, shooting a one-under 71 for a one-stroke lead over compatriot Se Ri Pak at Mobile, Ala. ... Tom Kite, Allen Doyle and John Schroeder shot seven-under 65s in perfect scoring conditions and shared the first-round lead in the Gold Rush Classic seniors event at El Dorado Hills, Calif. ... Danny Briggs shot a seven-under 65 to tie D.A. Points for the second-round lead at the Buy.com Tour’s Inland Empire Open at Rancho Cucamonga. Casey Martin shot a 67 and is tied with nine others, six shots off the lead.

Pro Basketball

The Clippers signed five free agents, completing their training camp roster. Guard Miles Simon, a former standout at Arizona and Santa Ana Mater Dei High, is the most recognizable name among the five.

Simon last played in the NBA in 1998-99 with the Orlando Magic and spent last season playing in Italy. He will be joined by free agents Neil Edwards, Obinna Ekezie, Harold Jamison and Ansu Sesay when the Clippers open training camp Tuesday at Palm Desert.

The team is expected to announce soon that it has picked up the option season on forward Elton Brand’s contract. Brand, acquired June 28 from the Chicago Bulls, could become a restricted free agent in two years and an unrestricted free agent in three.

The Houston Rockets reached an agreement with free agent Marc Jackson, who will replace traded star Hakeem Olajuwon at center. The Rockets received a medical exception worth $3.25 million next season because of the season-ending injury to Maurice Taylor, and applied that money to a contract offer for Jackson.

Tennis

Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain lost in the quarterfinals of the Salem Open at Hong Kong, defeated by Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

In two other upsets, Andre Sa of Brazil beat sixth-seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, 6-1, 6-3, and eighth-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile downed third-seeded Sebastien Grosjean of France, 6-2, 6-3.

Schuettler will play Sa and Rios will face Andrew Ilie of Australia today. Ilie defeated Magnus Larsson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-3.

Top-seeded Kim Clijsters overcame a nerve problem in her right arm and beat Italy’s Silvia Farina, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, reaching the semifinals of the Sparkassen Cup at Leipzig, Germany. Second-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France also made the semifinals, defeating Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. ... Spaniards Albert Portas, Felix Mantilla and Tommy Robredo advanced to the semifinals of an ATP tournament at Palermo, Sicily. Portas, seeded third, downed compatriot David Sanchez, 6-3, 6-3; Robredo defeated Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-6 (5), and Mantilla was leading, 6-0, 2-0, when Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina quit because of stomach pains.

Auto Racing

Winston Cup rookie Jason Leffler, who didn’t even make the field a week earlier, pulled off a shocker by winning the pole for the inaugural Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

Leffler, driving a Dodge Intrepid for Chip Ganassi Racing, set the pace early in the qualifying session on a cool, sunny afternoon, turning a lap of 176.499 mph on the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

Chevy driver Jeff Gordon, the Winston Cup points leader, came closest with a lap at 176.304. The time difference between the two front-row qualifiers for Sunday’s race was 0.034 of a second.

Kevin Lepage, driving a Ford Taurus, won the pole for the Mr. Goodcents 300, the inaugural Busch series race at Kansas Speedway at 174.21 mph. It was the second pole and first since 1998 for the 39-year-old Lepage.

Miscellany

Goalie Chris Osgood was picked by the New York Islanders from the Detroit Red Wings, one of nine players selected in the NHL’s waiver draft.

Osgood, who helped the Red Wings to consecutive Stanley Cups in 1996-97 and 1997-98, was the first player chosen. Detroit left him unprotected after trading for star goalie Dominik Hasek in the off-season.

The draft also included what amounted to a swap of defensemen, Calgary taking Jamie Allison from Chicago and the Blackhawks claiming Phil Housley from the Flames.

Atlanta Thrasher forward Jeff Odgers was suspended for two exhibition games and fined $1,000 by the NHL for elbowing an opponent in the head.

USA Wrestling will send a proposal to the sport’s international governing body this weekend to reschedule the World Championships of Wrestling for early December and spread events among several New York venues.

The competition was to be held this week at Madison Square Garden but was postponed because of security and travel concerns after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The new proposal calls for some events to be held at the Garden and other area venues, USA Wrestling spokesman Gary Abbott said.

Boxer Tommy Garland, who grew up in Culver City and was a major player in the Los Angeles boxing scene during the 1930s and ‘40s, has died. He was 81.